Premier League: What do we know and when could it resume? Insight from 22Bet
There has been no action in the Premier League since Leicester City’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium on the 9th March. Discussions have been ongoing as to when the competition may resume, but at present nothing has yet been agreed. The Premier League continue to meet with representatives from all 20 clubs regarding when the season could potentially return, but nothing has yet been finalised.
There is still an awful lot to play for in the most competitive league in world football while some of the best betting sites in Kenya are eagerly waiting for the sport’s return. Therefore, EPL fans over at 22Bet bookmaker have set out to find out what could potentially happen over the next couple of weeks, and when could the season resume?
How many games are left and what is at stake?
All 20 Premier League clubs have admitted that they want to end the season, with a null-and-void option already being knocked back by the respective clubs. There are still a combined 92 fixtures to be played among the sides in the Premier League this season, with the vast majority of sides, have nine fixtures remaining. Nothing has yet been decided this season, with Liverpool fans preying that the season can resume so that they can win their first domestic title in 30 years.
There are still battles at both ends of the table too, with teams competing for a place in next season’s Champions League, and sides looking to fight off the risk of relegation into the Championship. The last fixture to be played in the Premier League was on the 9th March, with the first official cancelled fixture on the 11th.
When could the premier league resume?
The clear answer to this is that nobody really knows. The Premier League are in the same position as the remaining leagues in Europe, with UEFA also looking to pick the right time to resume the Champions League and Europa League. Fans were given very little clue when action could continue in England following the Premier League meeting on the 17th April.
It was revealed that the situation is changing daily, and the circumstances are being monitored. The Premier League admitted that they would only be able to resume play once the government has deemed it safe to do so. There hasn’t been any update regarding when that could be, and whether the action will take place behind closed doors. However, all clubs are united in their belief that the season must be completed.
Could the Premier League season be void?
It is clearly still an option on the table, but it would be a last case scenario for the organisers. The league would be guaranteed to lose around £1 billion due to the deals with television networks. Should the Premier League make the decision to end the campaign, then they would be looking to get this money back. That isn’t even mentioning the issues that clubs will have, as many of them would deem it unfair to end the season now and class their current position as their final position.
What Does ‘null and void’ mean?
The possibility of the Premier League season being null and void is something that has been spoken about, but all clubs are reportedly against this option. It would mean that the season would end immediately, with no sides relegated and no winners crowned. That would certainly be the stuff of nightmares for Liverpool as they are currently runaway leaders.
However, fans have argued that it would be unfair to give them the title as they haven’t mathematically won the league yet, and organisers wouldn’t be able to give them the title and then not relegate the sides at the bottom as that would indicate one rule for some and then another for the remaining sides. But, this is certainly a last case option.
What could happen to complete the season?
One option that has been heavily spoken about is a World Cup-style training camp. This would see players kept in large groups to ensure that the virus isn’t able to infiltrate camps before they then play games at neutral stadiums to complete the games. This ensures that broadcasters are able to get the deal they want, fans could place bets online while the season is also completed.
The Premier League have also indicated that the season isn’t likely to resume before the beginning of June, which clubs are worried about as they wanted the season ended by the end of June due to contracts. It was revealed that it would take five weeks to complete the season, which means the final weekend of the season could come in August; just weeks before the 2020-21 season was due to get underway. The Premier League are due to meet every week, with updates likely following every meeting.